


Here, But Really Gone

by Ev3rMichelle



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: And no one would blame her, Dark Kylo Ren, Dark(ish) Rey, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Lore, Fuck Snoke, Kylo just really wants an Empress, Loth-Wolves (Star Wars), Mysterious voices - Freeform, No Pregnancy, Possessive Kylo Ren, Rey just wants to get off of Jakku, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, dark promises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:54:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ev3rMichelle/pseuds/Ev3rMichelle
Summary: Hearing a disembodied voice is a bad thing, even on Jakku.But what if the voice offers Rey exactly what she never knew she wanted?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 120
Collections: ReylOlds





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was the result of a random brainstorming session between my darling [Mish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketfullofdaisies). She's brilliant as a writer, and an even more brilliant fandom friend <3
> 
> As always, anything decent in this fic is because of the help from my beta supreme, [Els](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElegyGoldsmith). I truly wouldn't be writing if it wasn't for her and the rest of the ladies of the clique. If you know, you know. xoxo

  
  


Kylo stalked down the hall, increasing his pace as he skirted around troops on patrol near the bridge of the  _ Supremacy _ , pulling on the Force to keep his footfalls silent and his presence hidden. It wouldn’t do to have Hux catch a glimpse of him and demand that he become involved in whatever petty nonsense the General called ‘work’. 

Not when there was such a disruption in the Force.

It began quietly, like a niggling little tickle somewhere Kylo couldn’t quite reach. It tugged at his subconscious as he was training with his Knights, barely enough to distract him from his saber forms — but he kept track of it, trying to follow it like breadcrumbs, but it was still too weak to see clearly. 

The feeling flared up only to recede, teasing and beckoning for Kylo to push, to reach, to follow. Yet as soon as he thought he had a firm grasp on it, it flowed through his fingers like water.

It wasn’t until he was sparring with Vicrul, the end of the Knight’s vibro-ended scythe locked with the crossguard of Kylo’s saber, that the disturbance  _ exploded _ . Kylo stumbled and the saber fell, Vicrul jumping back with a sneer as it nearly sliced through his thigh.

Kylo sank to his knees, head in his hands, as his consciousness streaked across the galaxy, seeking the source of the steady hum in the Force.

He called the saber to his hand as soon as he could stand and clipped it to his belt, leaving the training room without a word to his Knights. They didn’t matter — not when there was a Force user this powerful, calling out to anyone who would listen. 

And Kylo fully intended to listen. 

Having reached his quarters, he waved his hand, locking the door with a complicated set of mechanisms that would take a team of Hux’s prize engineers days to unpick. He ripped his helmet off his head and threw it toward the bed, flicking his fingers at the last minute so it landed with a soft thunk instead of a metal-splitting crack. 

He had to meditate, to call on every ounce of his considerable power to discover exactly what was going on in the outer reaches of the galaxy. 

Kylo settled himself cross-legged in front of Vader’s helmet, the position one of the only remaining aspects of Light-side Forcework he’d retained from his adolescence at the Temple. Resting his hands on his knees, he tuned out the quiet hum of the sublight engines thousands of feet away, his mind skimming past the murmurs of every crew member on board and floating away, dipping into the very fabric of the Force. 

Kylo sat still, focusing his thoughts toward the other being, waiting for them to reach back out. Whatever connection that was being forged was tenuous, but vibrant and full of life. Like a child racing away from their caretaker before darting back to safety. If his Force signature reflected him physically — large and overwhelming, theirs was small, but resilient. 

It could take hours of waiting for them to realize someone was here on the other side of the Force. But if his brief premonition was correct, it would be worth the wait. The person he felt, the person he was  _ connected  _ to, had more untapped power than anyone he’d ever encountered. 

The brief brush of their consciousness against his made him certain that 

If their powers were able to be combined, the two of them would be unstoppable. 

There was a reason they’d practically screamed to him across light-years, and Kylo was determined to find out what that reason was — why the Force had brought them together. 

Kylo tamped down the tiny flame of the Light that he could never fully extinguish, pulling the Dark around him like a shroud. Kylo sank into the vast nothingness of the Force, embracing the Dark and its power, following the string that would lead him to his counterpart. 

Images began to swirl in his mind, and suddenly he was flying through space — past stars, past nebulae and asteroids, circling around planets and moons until he hovered over an absolute dust bowl of a planet. 

_ Jakku. _

_ Grandfather, help me discover why the Force is calling to me… _

_ Grandfather, help me... _

_ Grandfather… _

And then, darkness. 

+++

Sand was everywhere. In her mouth, down her tunic, in her ears. Rey lay on her back, dazed and blearily blinking, trying to find her bearings as she squinted up at the light pouring through the cracks in the ruined Star Destroyer. 

She’d been trying to squeeze through a gap in the durasteel, reaching her arm toward a handhold to pull her body through the opening when her ropes had snapped, and she fell.

Rey wasn’t stupid — she couldn’t have been, to have survived so many years in the Jakku desert, trading bits of metal and tech for portions or water, scrapping for tools and other necessities. The desert was only kind to the clever.

Her ropes, though handmade, were sturdy — or they  _ had _ been. Now they lay on the ground around her, frayed and useless. 

_ What happened? _

Rey remembered stretching her arm out as far as she could, twisting as she tried to take up less room. Thinking if she just could  _ reach out _ a little more … if she could brush against the comm box she knew was in there … if her fingers could grab it…

She was sure the box had moved a little as she wiggled her fingers to try and loosen it — but as she inched closer the faded durasteel disappeared, and suddenly she could see flashes of red, swirling like flame in her mind's eye. 

The quiet sounds of the broken Destroyer had disappeared too, like she’d stuffed cotton in her ears to block out the eerie creaks dampened by years of accumulating sand. Her attention had been drawn to the sound of movement, people — men? — grunting, and the clash of a vibroblade against something else. 

**_What are you?_ **

The question, whispered in her head, had startled her so suddenly that she jerked, yanking on the ropes — and in the split second before she thought,  _ I’m going to fall  _ and when the falling actually began, she’d panicked and screamed out loud. 

The scream echoed in her mind, and just as her hands stretched out, scrabbling to find a handhold, a rope — anything, her mind stretched out. 

_ Help me I’m falling help me anyone help _ —

Then, nothing.

Now Rey lay on the sand, gasping for breath, trying to take stock of her injuries — of which here were sure to be many. 

But she could wiggle her toes. Her fingers, too. Her neck and shoulders ached, but that was nothing new, especially after a day spent hauling gear to and from Niima Outpost. She sat up stiffly, carefully extending her arms and rotating her joints.

How was she alive? 

Falling from the interior of a Star Destroyer meant likely death — and if not death, certainly severe injuries that would lead to eventual starvation. She’d broken her arm before, dislocated her collar bone at least twice that she could remember, and twisted her ankles more times than she could count. 

But a fall from  _ that _ height? She should be dead. 

Rey searched her memories for the fall and its inevitable landing, but she found nothing. A blank space where the sudden impact should have been. It was as though someone had thrown liquid over her thoughts, blurring the lines between reality and dreaming — everything was hues of grey with watery edges. Rey barely remembered  _ falling _ , but the collision with the durasteel of the Star Destroyer? Absolutely nothing. 

Grunting, she pulled herself to her feet and slowly gathered her belongings. The shredded rope might be salvageable; maybe she could turn it into a net to replace the old one attached to her speeder. Her tools lay scattered in the sand, and she was unearthing her ancient fusioncutter when the voice broke through, startling her again.

**_What are you, little one?_ **

Her neck prickled as she turned, expecting to see another scavenger intent on pillaging her spoils, but she was alone.

“Who are you?” she demanded, her voice echoing off the empty hull.

**_Unimportant. Who are you?_ **

“No one. Leave me alone.” The fusioncutter was shoved unceremoniously into the side pocket of her bag, and a rusty hydrospanner followed. 

**_Nobody’s no one. Do you know what you are?_ **

Rey hesitated, unused to people asking her questions about herself. “A scavenger. A scrapper. Nothing.” 

**_No. You’re powerful. You’re like me. Surely you can feel it._ **

It was like a dream, this voice. Deep and velvety across her mind, telling her everything she’d ever wanted to hear, giving hope to her deepest secrets and most heartfelt wishes. Maybe she could be more than she was born to be, leave the sands of Jakku behind and make her own way across the galaxy. She’d like to see it all, every beautiful planet she ever saw in the Imperial holos she kept for herself. Rey was tired of waiting for parents who, at best, had died after leaving her in the hands of Unkar Plutt. At worst, they had forgotten about her existence and lived content in the knowledge that their daughter was likely dead in the desert. She didn’t care for them any more than they cared for her, so why  _ shouldn’t _ she leave, if granted the opportunity?

Rey’s imagination sparked, her mind’s eye building a picture of verdant forests and aquamarine lakes, of tables laden with foods she’d never seen before, the scents irresistible. Her mouth watered and she had to stop herself from reaching out to try and snatch a particularly delicious-looking bun with icing dripping down the sides. 

The table disappeared and she saw a cottage perched on the bank of a stream, surrounded by a grassy field. Vines grew over the windows, reaching up to the roof, and she could hear sounds coming from inside.

Rey peeked through the front window and gasped. 

She saw herself —or a version of herself — clean-faced, plump and rosy-cheeked, sitting at a desk strewn with bits of metal tech. She saw mind-Rey pick up a tool and use it to attach a switch to a cylinder, twisting her wrist enough so that the project was visible. A droid — or what would become a droid, with some work. 

How long had Rey dreamed about building her own droid, her own companion? Something to come home to at the end of a day of scrapping.  _ Kriff _ , something to come with her if she could build a particularly useful one...

**_Is that all you want, little one? Food to fill your belly? A home? A … droid?_ **

The voice scoffed a little at the end, and Rey stiffened in indignation. 

“Look, I don’t know  _ who  _ or  _ what _ you think you are, but I didn’t ask for you to—“

**_I can give you those things. Just ask and they could be yours._ **

A chill ran down Rey’s spine. 

Hearing mysterious voices was bad enough, but hearing ones that promised you things? That would give you anything you  _ wanted? _ Even a scavenger from Jakku knew that wasn’t a good sign. 

She stuffed the rest of her tools in her bag and whirled around, eyes darting to the largest crack in the hull to escape through. 

**_I’ll find you, little one. You can’t run from me._ **

She ran anyway. 

She skidded down the dune, kicking sand up behind her as she went, arms pinwheeling in the air to keep her balance. Her speeder was close, hidden under the sawed-off wing of a TIE fighter — and she bolted for it, vaulting over rubble and abandoned tech in her hurry. 

Voices in her head. Or, rather, a singular, very loud voice. 

He was still speaking, but as Rey stashed her bag and switched on her speeder, she pushed his low murmurs away until they faded to the hum of background noise.

What to do? Plutt would be no help; he’d scream and call her crazy, and she’d be even more alone than she was already. No one would make deals with her, she’d die hungry and thirsty, alone in her AT-AT. 

There was no one else. There were people she knew, sure, but they were like her — alone in the desert, struggling for portions. R’iia knew they’d be of no help. They’d be terrified of her, steal her supplies, and leave her for dead.

Rey forced herself to take slow, deep breaths as she pondered her limited options. Niima Outpost was clearly not one of them. Where else could she be safe from a voice who claimed he could find her? It was otherworldly, and she needed an otherworldly solution. 

The answer came to her like a shaft of light — Tuanul.

There were whispers of a group of mystics in Tuanul who worshipped … something. Rey wasn’t sure  _ what,  _ exactly, but she was sure they could help her. Like a puzzle piece falling into place, she was absolutely certain that the Temple in Tuanul would be the answer to her problem. 

Her foot pressed down on the pedal and she flipped the throttle wide open, shooting across the ridge towards the Temple. 

+++

Kylo sat on the floor of his meditation chamber, drenched in sweat — unsure if it was the power he was drawing to cast his voice across the galaxy, or if it was his mind providing the heat from the Jakku desert. Either way, it didn’t matter — and he ignored the beads of sweat as they trickled down his back. 

It was a girl. A nobody, surely. Clearly she was unused to wielding her powers; he’d known  _ children _ who had more finesse than she displayed. Force users, especially ones as strong as she appeared to be, didn’t belong scrapping on a planet in the Western Reaches. 

She should be claiming her power,  _ demanding _ what was hers by right…

Kylo tore himself out of the grasp of his meditation, pushing his soaked hair off of his forehead, as he stretched his legs. Sitting in the pose drawn from his uncle’s teachings was productive, but it was anything but comfortable. 

But Kylo knew what he had to do — if he had the strength to do it. 

He tapped a few buttons on his datapad before tossing it on the mattress. His closet was his next target, and he quickly stripped to his basics, pulling on clothes that would do a better job at hiding his identity than his usual cowl and mask. 

Dark pants went on first, then a shirt that opened partway down the front. The droids on the  _ Supremacy _ had done a good job with the weave, the fabric was soft and strong, and half of him wished he could wear it instead of his usual all-black fare. A black jacket followed the shirt, pockets concealed in the seams where he tucked a random assortment of vibroblades and a stash of credit chips. 

He shrugged a saber holster over his shoulders, tightening the strap snugly across his chest before clipping his lightsaber onto the mag-locs that held it secure between his shoulder blades. A blaster fit high on his thigh, and he sat to pull on a pair of knee-length boots, into which he hid a final vibroblade. 

He studiously ignored his reflection in the sonic mirror, unwilling to admit just how much he looked like his father — or even worse, how much he looked like Ben Solo. 

Kylo’s datapad pinged, alerting him that his shuttle had been sufficiently prepped and was waiting for him in the officer’s docking bay.He moved silently through the  _ Supremacy _ , even without calling on the Force to mask his movements. The Force wasn’t a finite thing, like a mug of caf one eventually ran out of, but he wasn’t sure how much of his own focus he’d need to use up on his journey across the galaxy. 

Once on his shuttle, Kylo settled himself in the pilot’s seat and quickly programmed his route into the navicomputer. While the ship ran its pre-flight checks, he sent a quick memo to Hux on the bridge, telling him that he would be going on a mission and would be unavailable for some time.

He knew this would irritate Hux, and wasn’t that just the cherry on top of the Nectrose Freeze? Not only was he finding his equal in the Force, but it would stick in Hux’s craw. 

Contentment washed over him as he maneuvered out of the docking bay and throttled forward into the blackness of deep space. 

Kylo took a moment to rest after plotting his course and engaging the hyperdrive, the palms of his hands rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes. 

His shuttle was designed to his specifications, and his chambers on board had their own meditation alcove — more of a closet, really, but it would serve his purposes today. Kylo squeezed himself onto the seat in the tiny room and relaxed his shoulders. Eyes closed, he reached deep into himself, pulling on the form that he would become to find the scrapper on Jakku who had no idea of her potential. 

Luke had skirted around this subject at the Temple, declaring it  _ too dangerous _ and  _ a death wish _ , but once Kylo began his apprenticeship with Snoke it was one of the first things he’d learned. The galaxy boasted any number of beings who were attuned with the Force, both sentient and otherwise — and even though it had taken months of failed attempts, eventually he was able to manifest his consciousness into the form of one of them. 

With this skill, he could cast himself mentally — not bodily, no one could  _ transport  _ themselves physically across the galaxy in an instant — anywhere he pleased. It took work, and it often stretched his body to its breaking point, but it was usually worth it. 

He was pleased with the form he took when Snoke allowed him to reach his talents this far. It was useful and served him well. An uncommon but not particularly exotic beast, one people feared, avoided, and lauded in equal measure. They didn’t know Kylo couldn’t harm them when he was in the form — he wasn’t much more than a handful of particles — but he always was smug when he knew things his lessers didn’t. 

He was eager this time, diving quickly into the familiar Dark.

As he closed his brown eyes, a pair of yellow ones opened on an unfamiliar planet covered in sand. 

+++

The Temple was empty when Rey arrived, all the penitents gone for the night — no one with any amount of sense would be out wandering the dunes after sundown. It was as sure a death sentence as diving into the Sinking Fields out in Goazon. 

The carved wooden doors stood ajar, though, as if someone had popped in for a quick moment without remembering to pull them shut in their rush to get to the innermost part of the building. 

Rey stayed to the shadows, skirting around the pillars stretching to the ceiling to avoid the light cast by clusters of candles. Benches sat in neat rows, facing a raised dais with a table resting in the center. 

“Hello?” Rey whispered as she approached the altar, her eyes darting side to side, her body poised to flee at the first sign of danger. 

No response. She tried again, louder this time, and her voice came back to her as a subdued echo.

She gnawed her chapped lips. So much for the Temple being the solution to her problem. She was alone. 

**_Not alone,_ ** the voice supplied stubbornly. 

She looked around frantically, hoping that someone must be here, someone  _ had _ to have heard the voice — it was too deep, too loud. There was no way it was meant for her ears only. 

Still nothing from the empty Temple.

Rey backtracked, crossing the nave and peering into a side chapel. Through the falling shadows she could barely see the figures of two men and a woman, carved out of a rich mahogany wood, set in a place of honor. 

_ Wonderful,  _ she mused _ , I find people, but they’re as real as this voice in my head. _

**_I’m real, little one. You’ll find out soon enough._ **

Turning abruptly on her heel, Rey passed another chapel featuring a slab of rock, into which was carved a woman holding … a sword, maybe? Her arm was thrust out in front of her and the sword was held away at eye level, pointing toward an unseen foe. 

Rey quickly left the Temple, only to discover that night had fallen in earnest, the dunes surrounding Tuanul nothing more than inky smudges on the horizon. The few people she had passed on her trip into the village were all indoors now, their cottages ablaze with light as they celebrated the end of another day with their families.

There was no way Rey’d be able to make it home before something in the desert decided to make a meal out of her — and as she locked down her speeder for the night, she assessed her options.

No credits, no friends. No one would take her in for the night here in Tuanul; people were unwilling to share their scraps with their closest relatives, much less a complete stranger who might stare off into the distance and converse with a voice only she could hear. 

Goosebumps rose on her arms as the chill of another desert night sank into her body. There was no way Rey would be able to spend the night next to her speeder. Her job today was meant to have been quick, so she hadn’t brought anything more than her tools and carrying net. Nothing to keep her warm when the icy winds blew across the sand. 

Rey tugged her staff from the netting and gave her speeder a little pat before reluctantly turning her back on it and making her way back into the Temple. This time, she pulled the heavy doors shut behind her with a resolute thud before making her way back up to the frontmost bench, sinking onto it and gratefully leaning back against the worn wood. 

She carefully spread the thin fabric of her armwraps as far as they’d go, covering as much skin as she could before pulling her legs up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them in turn. The Temple was a shelter, to be sure, and probably safer than anywhere she’d slept before, but it didn’t provide much in the way of comfort or warmth. 

Ignoring the grumble in her belly, Rey traced shapes in the drifts of sand with her toe. A person, first. A woman, with long hair. A man, whose smile she leaned forward to draw with an outstretched finger. A child with three buns in their hair, and—

Wait. Were those …  _ footsteps? _

Rey stiffened, her back pressed firmly against the wood of the bench as her fingers tightened on the staff. Thank R’iia she’d thought to bring it with her. She held her breath, not wanting to miss a single sound, relieved that the voice finally decided to stay quiet.

There it was again, the sound of footsteps. Stealthy ones, as if the being was trying to be quiet and was mostly succeeding, but too large to be altogether silent. The cadence was different from a humanoid’s footsteps. Even the Teedo sounded like anyone else when they deigned to hop off their luggabeasts, a standard bipedal sort of pacing. 

But this creature had more feet.

Images of reptilian things with slithery, dragging tails and arachnoid sentients skittering across the floor flashed across Rey’s mind as she leapt to her feet and whirled around, brandishing her staff..

“Who — Who are you?” 

**_You know who I am._ **

A chill ran down her back. “I don’t know you. You’re just a voice in my head.” 

The padding sounds of footfalls grew louder, but Rey was unable to pinpoint where they were coming from in the unfamiliar chamber.

**_You called to me, little one. You needed help, and you called out to me._ **

_ That _ stopped Rey, as suddenly as if she ran into a wall. She couldn’t remember when she asked anyone for help and they didn’t respond with an eye roll and a sarcastic laugh.

“I did not!” 

The voice chuckled, the sound seeping into her bones. It brought to mind the lump of sugar she’d saved up for years ago, before she knew better. It had taken months of separating out her portions, of setting them aside to trade with a traveling peddler who came through Niima twice a year. 

She’d brought him a sackful of them and he had laughed at her, but took them anyway. In exchange, she was given a lump of sugar, brown and hard, the size of her palm. It had gone sticky and melty in the desert heat, and the peddler scoffed at her to “put it in her mouth, already, before it goes to waste” — and so she had. 

Rey would never forget the feeling of the sugar melting on her tongue. The sun-warmed sweetness covering her mouth as her tongue darted out to lick the crystals from her lips. The voice was like the sugar — warm and sweet, but smoky in equal measure. It somehow felt forbidden. Just like the sugar, which Rey would swear she could still taste if she rubbed her tongue across her teeth sometimes, the voice lingered. 

**_You did. You used the Force to help you … reach something? Some sort of tech, I think. But you fell, and you called out. And I was here._ **

“I — that — that was  _ you?” _ Rey still couldn’t see anything in the shadows of the Temple, but she knew that he was close, and probably closer than she expected. 

She slowly pivoted on her toes, trying to catch a glimpse of anything beyond the shadows. 

**_You’re strong in the Force, but untrained. You were trying so hard to grab whatever you wanted that you opened yourself up to me._ **

The voice sounded sheepish now, like he was ashamed of himself.

**_I didn’t mean to make you fall. I tried to stop you. Are you hurt?_ **

Rey could only shake her head, lips parted in a silent scream — because out of the darkness loomed a shadow. Taller than she was, a beast on four legs, towering at the entrance to the chapel with the wooden carvings. 

It padded closer, and she could see the thick fur that covered its body. Drawing her eyes to its legs, Rey took in long claws on each foot, and a thick bottlebrush tail that swept the sand behind them. 

The creature crept closer, moving with deliberate slowness. As it slunk into the low light cast by the dying candles, Rey took in a long muzzle framed by two eyes glowing gold, topped with a ruff of fur surrounding its head. 

It blinked lazily at her, its jaw shifting with a soft  _ click _ of teeth against teeth.

Her mind spun. Jakku didn’t have native dogs this large, and even if it did, no creature should have been able to come into the Temple after she had shut the doors. She meant to say something cutting and accusatory, something that framed her frustration and terror at this surreal situation she’d suddenly found herself in, but when she opened her mouth, what came out was anything but. 

“You’re a…dog?” Her lips snapped shut and she eyed the creature warily as it continued its slow prowl towards her. 

It chuckled again, tossing its head. The dark fur gleamed shiny-bright in the flickering candles, and Rey found herself curling her fingers into fists to subdue the urge to reach out and  _ pet _ the thing.

**_Nothing so mundane, little one. Any other guesses?_ **

The disembodied voice-turned-dog-thing seemed pleased with its guessing games. It didn’t seem particularly dangerous, or like it wanted to eat her. This was Jakku, after all — if you didn’t eat your meal right away, it was liable to disappear. 

She’d play along. At least this was more excitement than she’d had since Duzo found an old bottle of Corellian whisky in one of the wrecks and stumbled around Niima drunk for days. 

Rey thought hard about the encyclopedias she poured over before handing the datapads and chips over to Plutt. 

“A Sungwa?”

**_Do I look yellow?_ ** He snorted, a puff of air blowing across the space that separated them.  **_Besides, we’re far from Bogden._ **

Her thoughts whirled, bringing up creatures and just as easily setting them aside. Not a Korrina or a Snow-wolf, or a Jerethian clamberwolf—although she thought she was getting close with the idea of a wolf. He fit the description, now that she was closer and could see him better. 

Not an average height for a canid to be sure.Her head only came up to his sloped shoulders, but everything else fit — the golden eyes, the claws, the thick fur…

“Some kind of wolf, I just don’t know what.”

His glee at her guess was noticeable, his tail twitching to and fro in a way that could almost be described as a wag.

**_You’re a smart thing, little one. Loth-wolf, if we’re being specific._ **

He sidled up closer than ever before, letting his side nearly brush her hip as he practically sashayed in front of her, like he was — was he  _ showing off? _

“Aren’t you a little far from Lothal? And how did you get in here? I closed the door, I know I did…” 

She trailed off as he flopped down on his side, leaning his back against the base of the altar. His paws were huge, and his legs stretched out nearly to meet her where she stood. 

**_Let’s just say this isn’t my true form. Kylo, by the way. My name._ **

He added the last words as Rey stared dumbfounded at him, trying to connect the dots between  _ Loth-wolf _ ,  _ true form _ , and whatever Kylo truly was. She sank to the ground, crossing her legs and picking nervously at the threadbare seam of her tunic. 

“Uh, I’m Rey. I guess? I mean, I am. I’m Rey.”

Her babbling was rewarded by a tilt of his head and a slight curl of his lip.

“And … your _true form?_ What the karking hell does that mean?”

His tail flicked lazily. Rey imagined that if he were humanoid, he’d be waving his hand in the air, indicating his indifference in the subject matter. 

**_I don’t usually look like this. The fur and the tail, and…_ ** He snuffled, wiggling his nose. ... **_the whiskers._ **

Rey froze. Whatever this  _ thing _ was, he was powerful enough to … to what, exactly? Turn himself into a fake Loth-wolf? 

“Why?” 

The creature was seemingly entranced by a dust mote lazily drifting through the air, and he blinked twice before shrugging —  _ shrugging!  _ — and replying,  **_I wanted to see you for myself._ **

Her silence stretched. What could she say to that? Either she was hallucinating or she suddenly found herself immersed in a world she couldn’t even begin to understand.

He broke the silence, his eyes never leaving hers.

**_I said you were like me. Strong in the Force. Don’t roll your eyes, it’s true. You’ve done things you can’t explain, yes?_ **

“Sometimes I just  _ know _ where to find the scrap that Plutt wants … before anyone else can even try.”

**_What’s a ‘Plutt’?_ **

“My…” What  _ was _ he exactly? Her guardian? Caretaker? R’iia knows he’s done a shit job of it. Her boss? No, bosses  _ pay _ their workers. “He’s my...Master?” 

The wolf stiffened and sat up, his fur raising along the ridge of his spine until it was standing on end, making him look even larger and more dangerous than before. 

**_You have a Master already?_ **

“Already?!” Rey blinked at him.

**_Ah. I’m doing this wrong. Do you know what the Force is?_ ** At her cautious nod, he went on.  **_It’s the thread that holds the galaxy together — and some of us, we can manipulate it to our will. Move things, sense events before they happen, read minds…_ **

“Read _minds?!”_ Rey exploded, her confusion morphing into anger. “Is that what you’re doing to me right now? This is all happening in my head, isn’t it? I knew it, I’m going insane, seeing a karking black wolf in a Temple — and not just _any_ wolf, oh no, a karking _talking_ Loth-wolf! No one would believe me if I tried—“

**_I_ ** **wouldn’t.** **_Read your mind. At least, not without permission. This is actually happening, little one._ **

Rey crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled, “‘m not little.” He ducked his large head in her direction, and continued.

**_Compared to some Force users, you’re surprisingly small. At least for the amount of power you have running through you. All of us — people strong enough in the Force —can sense each other, to a point. That’s what happened to you and me. You reached deep into your power, Rey. And your power in turn reached out to me._ **

“Then why are you here? Or … not here, but … here?” This was giving Rey a headache, and she desperately wished she could just go to sleep and let this bizarre turn of events disappear amongst her dreams. 

**_I’d like to bring you to join me. I have a Master. He can help train you._ ** **I** **_can help train you. Become more than this._ ** His voice turned earnest now, the words picking up speed as his excitement grew.  **_You wanted food? We have food, dozens of kitchens on one ship, with food fresh from hydroponics every day. You won’t have a house, but you can have your own quarters—rooms of your own, little one. And droids! You wouldn’t even have to make them, if you didn’t want to. I can requisition them for you. You’d train with me and my Knights in combat, and I can train you in the Force. You’d never have to step foot on this planet again._ **

His voice turned ominous.  **_Or we could come back together and you could take your revenge on this Plutt creature. On everyone who’s ever wronged you. Take out your anger on everyone who’s treated you like less than you are._ **

**_Trust me, Rey, I know how it feels to be alone in the world, but my Master and the Force have helped show me my path. Together they have forged me into who I am. And I can do the same for you._ **

Rey was surprised how appealing his words sounded. She imagined leaving Jakku, only to return as a powerful warrior, blasting aside Plutt and the thieving Teedo. Dealing devastating blows to the water vendor who refused her any water as a child. Leaving bloody streaks on the walls of cottages of the families who wouldn’t take her in when she was newly abandoned on Jakku, alone and helpless. 

Why  _ shouldn’t _ she take her anger and hate out on the citizens of Niima? The galaxy would be better off without people like them in it — people who only cared about themselves. People like that would never change, Rey was sure of it. 

She’d lived in the dark places of a planet that no one would willingly go to. A planet that was forgotten by anyone who could make substantial change for the better. 

_ Order,  _ she decided,  _ that’s what worlds like this one need. Jakku and any number of planets like it — they need a firm hand to push them in the right direction. _

She raised her eyes to meet Kylo’s yellow ones. “You’re...powerful?” 

He nodded, the fur on his back rippling as he stood, padding his way over to her and sinking down on his haunches in front of her. 

“And you can make me powerful, too?” 

Another nod, slower this time. He licked his chops.  **_Very, very powerful, little one. You’re already strong. My Master and I can teach you to become even stronger._ **

“And you’ll … be with me?” The idea of someone, anyone,  _ with  _ her was enough for her to acquiesce to any of his ideas. She’d survived on her own for so long, but there was a difference between  _ living _ and simply surviving. For once in her life, Rey’d like to  _ live.  _ To have someone give words to every one of her darkest fantasies, and promise that they’d put her on the path to achieve them?

**_As long as you’ll have me._ **

“You’ll take me away from here?” The thought was absurd, but as soon as the words left her lips she somehow knew in the depths of her soul that he’d move planets to make it happen. 

**_I swear it. You’ll have everything you want, and more._ **

“Tell me.”

And so he did. Kylo spoke until the candles spluttered down to nothing, and the Temple went pitch-dark. He painted pictures of uniformed officers obeying her every whim; backwater planets hailing her as a hero, sent from above to pull them out of the trash piles they lived in; of dressing in black robes, holding a flaming sword, the red glow of the blade painting her face in dramatic shadows.

He spoke until she curled up beside him, careful not to come too close, but near enough that he could hear her whispered questions. 

Kylo told her stories of a man, brought up to believe in the ways of the child-thieving  _ Jedi _ (he said with a sneer), but whose mentor brought him around to the Dark, where he found his true calling. How he shaped the galaxy to his whims. How his bloodline ran strong, and while his son was a Jedi, choosing abject, scraping selflessness and Light — his grandson followed in his footsteps. 

Kylo’s voice deepened when he told her how it felt to open yourself up to the Dark. How your blood ran hot and fast, that you could feel the power of the Force straining to get out of your body any way it could. How sometimes it shot out of your fingertips like white-hot lightning. That your lightsaber, thrumming in your hand, grounded you in the Dark. It was a physical extension of your will, and with a single flick of your wrist, it could sever the heads from your enemies or kiss the skin of your lover with heat. 

Rey fell asleep to his voice, barely following along with his stories that seemed to come straight out of her own imagination. Certain that this would soon become a forgotten memory, a fairy tale she’d tell young scrappers as an old woman, she held on to every word she could as if they were portions given to a starving child who dreamed of a handful of sweetness.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, will the voice give Rey everything she was promised?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thanks as ALWAYS to my darling [Elegy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElegyGoldsmith/pseuds/ElegyGoldsmith). <3 <3

_ Beep.  _

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

The navicomputer jolted Kylo from his meditative state. Limbs stiff from sitting for so long, he stumbled to the cockpit to confirm the heading before grabbing a ration bar from what passed for a kitchen and throwing himself into a chair.

Peeling back the wrapping, he grimaced at the rations and took a tentative bite, chewing tentatively. 

“Eugh.” 

He tossed the bar back onto the counter, and grabbed a deep swig of water, rinsing the horrid taste out of his mouth as he swallowed. 

More or less satisfied, Kylo used the ’fresher and made his way back to his meditation alcove, preparing to step back into the Dark.

He pondered his next move as he settled into the seat, joints screaming at being forced back into the same position he held for hours earlier. 

Before she was just a vague sense in the Force, a tugging on his mind. A non-entity that he knew would be important, but now that he saw her — albeit through the eyes of a 7-foot-tall wolf — just  _ how _ important she was clicked into place. 

Her strength and potential exceeded that of any of his Knights, maybe even himself. All that power in a lone woman, alone on a forgotten planet like Jakku, fending for herself instead of being pampered and treated like … like … a queen. __

_ No, Kylo quickly amended.  _ An Empress.  __

____

____

__ His  _ Empress. _

__

He wanted to drape her in shimmersilks and auropyle, to set delicate jewels in the hollow of her neck and hang them from her ears. 

__

The girl was pretty enough on her own — but the thought of her dressed  _ only _ in his jewels, settled against his chest and on display to anyone who entered the throne room, made the blood pool in Kylo’s cock. 

__

He’d plait the gems into her hair until they fell down her back like drops of sparkling water. Ankarres sapphires and Gerinian star-stones, set into a platinum circlet that he would place on her head before taking her hand and settling her on his lap, ruling the galaxy from his —  _ their _ — throne. 

__

These thoughts were dangerous, Kylo knew. It would spell disaster if Snoke were to unearth them from his mind. He’d be put to death immediately — or rather, his Knights would have the honor of fighting him to the death. He’d take a few of them out with him, no doubt, but their numbers would be hard to beat. 

__

Kylo shoved the thoughts deep into his mind, locking them behind innocent memories of drudgery aboard the  _ Supremacy _ ; traipsing down the halls next to Hux, purposely annoying the copper-haired man until he was so wound up he had no choice but to explode. The satisfaction of wrapping the Force around his scrawny neck and gripping tight was satisfaction enough to mask his hunger.

__

Deep breaths calmed Kylo’s traitorous thoughts, and he let himself go into the Dark. 

__

This time was different; he knew exactly who he was seeking out and where to find her, asleep on the ground of a Temple amongst an ocean of sand.

__

And this time he didn’t bother taking the form of a Loth-wolf.

__

__

__

+++

__

_  
_

He stepped into her subconscious, inspecting his surroundings with a practiced eye. This must be what the poor thing thought luxury was: a sparsely decorated room with a small bed in the corner, and a table with two stools tucked underneath. A shabby bedspread was pulled over a small lump on the bed, and Kylo felt his stomach clench. 

__

_ She dreams of sleeping? _

__

He approached the bed, sitting himself gingerly on the edge, stretching his hand out to trace a line down her exposed arm, gently stroking her until she shifted in sleep and blearily opened her eyes. 

__

She squinted up at him. “Kylo?”

__

He smirked, taking pride in the fact that he was able to not only cast his consciousness into her dreamworld, but keep his appearance a mystery. “It’s alright, little one. I’m here.” 

__

She leaned into him, and his heart stuttered strangely as her hair brushed his thigh.

__

“I thought we could begin your training now, if you like.” 

__

_ That _ caught her attention, and she sat up, the blanket slipping until it pooled at her waist — and she was naked underneath, her body lain bare to his gaze. She instinctively moved to cover her breasts with her arms, butKylo’s hands shot out and caught her wrists. 

__

“No. You don’t get to hide from me. Don’t be shy, little one. I swear that no harm will come to you.” Her head tilted, trying to search for his face, but her eyes slipped over his form unsuccessfully. 

__

She pouted and sat back, twisting her fingers in her lap. “Where do we begin, then?” 

__

He hadn’t gotten that far, honestly. He was so entranced with her raw power that he didn’t picture a future for the two of them where they weren’t intertwined as lovers. 

__

What if she didn’t want this? — didn’t want him? __

__

He must have been silent for too long, because Rey shifted on the bed, giving him more room on the mattress before reaching for his face. 

__

She drew a breath as her skin connected with his cheek. Her other hand came up, and her fingers tracked the planes of his cheekbones. A finger traced his nose, and a thumb brushed over his lips, startling as his tongue darted out to meet it. 

__

Her voice broke the silence, barely more than a whisper. “This is insane. I don’t know you — you’re not even a  _ you _ yet. Kylo, you’ve … you’ve only been a voice, and then a wolf, and now… Well, now you’re just a shadowy outline of a man.” 

__

He chuckled, and the sound was as deep and melodic as it had been in her head. “Patience, little one. You’ll see me soon enough.” 

__

Kylo took her fingers in his, squeezing in a way he hoped was reassuring before putting them back in her lap. 

__

“I want you to try and  _ see _ me, Rey. Not with your eyes,” he scoffed as she opened them comically wide to try and see his true figure. “Still your mind, little one, and concentrate on  _ me. _ Can you feel me in the Force?” 

__

A quick gasp was his answer, and he opened his mind up for her to explore. 

__

Gentle fingers touched his thoughts, softly paging through his memories like they were pages of a precious book. He pushed remembrances of his childhood towards her — as a dark-haired toddler, running through a meadow on Chandrila; as a young man, carefully tracing swirls on a paper with a delicate brush; as a man grown, pacing the length of a training gym in a mask, twirling the pommel of a red saber around his body as another man approached him, staff raised in attack. 

__

The memories ended with his version of their meeting just hours ago, the stirring of his consciousness as she brushed against it. His curiosity, his interest — and once he saw her through the eyes of a wolf, his  _ arousal _ . 

__

His plans for them, together, the jewels and the throne. Her on her knees in front of him, offering fealty, and him on his knees in turn, worshipful and reverent.

__

Rey pulled back. 

__

“You — you — you can’t, Kylo, not  _ me. _ ” She scrambled to the edge of the bed, trying to put distance between the two of them. 

__

Kylo reached out and grabbed her, his hands nearly spanning the width of her waist. 

__

“I do.  _ I do, Rey. _ ” He spoke with quiet intensity, putting the Force behind his words and pushing the truth towards her so she’d know he spoke honestly. 

__

“How? Why?” Her voice was quiet and unsure, and Kylo ached to take her in his arms, to prove his need for her.

__

“Have you ever thought about what you  _ could be _ , if you were given the chance? I used to think all I was good for was negotiating peace treaties at the side of my uncle. Never using my full power, my full potential.” Kylo’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “My parents put me on a path to do nothing more. Your parents did the same, didn’t they? Jakku isn’t a place for grand futures.” 

__

Rey silently nodded as he continued, “Now I have everything I ever wanted. I can use the Force to its full potential. Passion, strength, and power — that’s what I’ve been given, and that’s what I want to give to you.” Her body softened at his promises. He could practically hear her thoughts as she imagined the possibilities he lay at her feet, and she sagged against his hold. 

__

He knew he had won. 

__

A tug had her in his lap, her back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her more firmly grinding his arousal up against her—he had been hard since he stepped into her dream, but watching her see his vision of their future together made him positively  _ ache _ with the want of her. 

__

She wiggled in his lap as she tried to leave his embrace, pressing her ass into the ridge of his cock. Kylo nuzzled her neck, pushing her hair away with his nose as he whispered, “Search your feelings, little one. You know this is  _ right _ . This is the will of the Force. You and I. Together.” 

__

He sucked openmouthed kisses into her neck, and Rey couldn’t help but arch into his touch. 

__

“Tell me, Rey. Tell me you see it, too. Tell me you want this. You want  _ me.  _ I can give you whatever you want, little one.” She sagged into his embrace, rolling her neck against his shoulder as her hips began to circle in earnest. 

__

“You want presents, Rey? Sweets and delicacies? I’ll feed you out of my hand like a precious little pet.” 

__

His hands loosened from her waist and slowly stroked their way up to her breasts, taking her nipples between his fingers, rolling the peaks until she was writhing against his lap. 

__

“I’d feed you until your belly was full and juice dripped down your chin, Rey.” He could feel her swallow, hear the sound of her tongue as it darted out to lick at her lips, chasing the flavors he promised her. 

__

Kylo cupped the weight of her breasts in the palms of his hands before squeezing and turning his attention back to each nipple. Soft circles turned into rough tugs, and his lips found their way back to her ear, worrying the lobe between his teeth before he pulled back and continued his whispered promises. 

__

“I swore I’d give you power, and I meant it.” His hands tweaked her nipples one last time, hard enough to elicit a breathy moan from the woman in his lap, and he spread hand over her belly while the other shifted them both backwards, so he was supported by the headboard. 

__

Rey twisted in his lap, her intent written on her face, and he chuckled, “Not yet, little one. How can I tell you everything I’m going to give to you if your mouth is on mine? Now, where was I?” His hand drifted lower, skirting the blanket that was twisted around her hips. 

__

Thick fingers loosened the edge of the fabric, tugging it out from underneath her as she shifted her weight to help. A ragged groan escaped Kylo’s lips as she settled more firmly against him, his cock harder than ever, and begging for attention. 

__

He heard a breathy giggle before Rey purposely ground against him, and he bucked his hips up to meet her. 

__

“You like this, Rey? Sitting on my lap? We can do this every day —first on our throne, and then, alone in our bed. You can perch on my thigh as we stretch our power across the galaxy, but when it’s just the two of us—” He thrust up, harder. “—you’ll bounce on my cock until I make you scream.” 

__

His fingers inched lower and lower, brushing against the curls between her legs before dipping into the wetness he found at her center. 

__

“Oh, little one,” he breathed, “you  _ do _ like this. You like what I can offer you — all the power you deserve, and all the pleasure you want.” 

__

A finger traveled even lower before sinking into her wetness, a gasp coming from the woman writhing above him. Kylo pumped his finger a few times before adding a second. 

__

“You’re a kriffing  _ dream,  _ Rey. A vision.” He thrust his cock against her as his fingers slowly continued their in-and-out motion. Rey moaned as he went on, her fingers coming up to pluck at her nipples.

__

Kylo pulled his fingers out from her, a shiny strand of her arousal following his movement. He twisted his wrist, wishing not for the first time that she could see him, before he opened his mouth to suck her essence off his fingers. 

__

“Can’t believe you even taste this sweet, little one.” He felt her preen in the Force, her arousal palpable as he returned his fingers to her cunt. Kylo thrust two fingers back into her while his thumb lazily circled her clit, and soon the blanket fell on the floor as she ground her ass back into his cock.

__

“I’ll show you power, Rey. Everything you imagine and more.” His finger on her clit pressed more firmly and she jerked in his arms, riding his fingers as much as his arms around her would let him. 

__

“I’ll help you destroy everyone who didn’t know your worth on this thrice-karked planet. Everyone who didn’t treat you like a queen will either bow the knee in front of you, or they’ll die. By my hand.” 

__

Rey moaned, her belly tight and her back arching as she chased the pleasure and promises Kylo gave her. A third finger slid next to the other two, and he crooked them just so, rubbing against her inner walls before he continued, his voice a ragged whisper.

__

“And when we’re done, little one? When we’re done, I’ll fuck you next to their bodies. We’ll steal the Darkness they left us, and we’ll use it to take what. We’re. Owed.” 

__

He pinched her clit between two slippery fingers, and she fell apart around him with a scream, her body shaking as her cunt clenched around him. 

__

As soon as she came down from her high, he shifted her up off his lap and scrambled to undo his trousers, cursing the fastenings under his breath until the fabric separated enough and he could maneuver his cock out. It hit his belly with a quiet slap, the precome at the tip leaving a wet mark in the hair leading down to his groin. 

__

Kylo reached out for Rey, and tugged her back into his lap, throwing her legs over his and cupping her breasts in each hand. 

__

“You’ve done this before?” 

__

She answered by lifting her hips and reaching behind her, giving his cock a leisurely stroke that nearly left him breathless, before notching it against her entrance and slowly sinking down. 

__

Rey bobbed in his lap, taking the first inches of him slowly as she adjusted to his size before he settled his hands around her waist. He squeezed, and pulled her down until the backs of her thighs were resting on the tops of his, her cunt stuffed full of cock. 

__

Kylo stilled for a moment, before reaching a hand between her legs to flick at her clit, groaning when he felt her tighten around his length. His other hand travelled up her chest, tweaking each nipple, before his fingers wrapped around her throat, tilting her head back against his shoulder. 

__

“You want what I promised you, little one?” He rasped, thrusting up into her. “If you want it,  _ claim it. _ ”

__

Those words spurred a change in Rey, and she lifted her body off his, just catching the tip of his cock before slamming back down onto him. She repeated the motion, leaning forward for balance and working her cunt up and down his cock. His hand twitched around her neck, never exerting any pressure, and the fingers at her clit rubbed lazily. Rey adjusted her position until his cock hit a spot inside of her that made her legs stiffen and an obscene moan leave her lips. 

__

“Right there, little one?” Kylo growled as he tugged her back against him, his fingers tightening around the sides of her neck. 

__

He held her there, quick thrusts of his hips rubbing his cock against the spot she was chasing. The fingers at her clit worked faster and he felt her wetness start to drip down his hand as Rey writhed in his embrace.

__

Kylo knew he was close as he panted hot and heavy into her neck — pressure was building at the base of his cock, and he was desperate to feel her cunt clench around him as she came again. The hand at her neck squeezed in time to his thrusts, and his fingers slipped on her clit as he brushed against the spot where his cock moved within her. He rolled her clit between his fingers, pinching it with increasing strength as he began to feel her tightening around him. 

__

He thrust harder, each powerful surge of his cock drawing breathy exhalations from her lips. Rey’s legs shook and her body vibrated; Kylo could feel her start to flutter around him.

__

“Tell me.” Kylo growled, removing his fingers from her clit before landing them back in her wetness with a slap and the sound of an indecent  _ squelch.  _

__

“Tell me, little one.” 

__

Her voice was quiet but sure as she responded, her body trembling as she gasped, “Yes, Kylo. I want it. Give it to me.” 

__

Those words drove him over the edge, her promise to be  _ his _ .

__

He strummed her clit roughly as he buried his cock to the hilt, and with one last desperate squeeze of her neck, he felt her come apart around him. Her cunt clenched at him, pulling every drop of spend out of his body as he pumped spurt after spurt into her with loud grunts. 

__

She wailed and thrashed in his arms, tugging at his hand to stop his ministrations on her clit, but Kylo was insistent and didn’t let up until he felt her tighten weakly around him again and tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes. 

__

He smoothed his hands down her body and wiped the sweat-drenched strands of hair off of her face, pressing kisses into her cheek, her neck, and her shoulder as she panted against him.

__

Rey was limp in his arms, a slow, satisfied smile spreading across her face as she trailed her fingers up his arms. 

__

“What now?” She murmured, turning in his lap with a grimace as his softening cock slipped from her body. Kylo gathered her close, tucking her head under his chin as he rolled them to the side, settling her against the mattress.

__

“Now...you sleep.” Before she could open her mouth in protest, he waved his hand slowly in front of her face, catching her head as she went limp and her eyes drifted closed. 

__

He pulled the forgotten blanket up from the floor and stretched it over her prone body, tucking her hair behind her ear and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. 

__

As he faded from her subconscious, he added, “I’ll see you soon, little one.” 

__

__

__

+++

__

_  
_

Rey stretched as she awoke the next morning, blinking up at a deeply wrinkled man as he poked at her with a cane. 

__

“It’s all fine and good if you slept here tonight, but you gotta leave before anyone thinks we give charity to just  _ anyone.”  _

__

Rey scowled up at him, and took stock of her situation. Alone, again. No wolf to be seen, Loth- or otherwise. The voice that had haunted her the day before was silent. Her dream wasn’t uncommon—she’d had dreams similar before, but it appears that no matter how realistic it seemed, she was still on Jakku, sleeping on the ground, in a Temple that provided her no more answers than she had when she stepped foot inside. 

__

She knew better than to pin her hopes on anything other than her own strength, no matter how pretty his words were. No matter what his promises were. And no matter how he picked her dream-self apart, only to put her firmly back together again with kisses and caresses. 

__

Before the man could jab at her again, she picked up her things and bolted for the door, ready to climb on her speeder and return to Niima. Maybe she could trade the tech she found yesterday for portions and could spend the day in the shade of her AT-AT. After all, it appears that  _ Kylo _ wasn’t coming back for her, no matter what he promised her in her mind. 

__

__

__

+++

__

__  


Three long days later, an ink-black ship broke atmo a klick outside of Niima. 

__

Rey wasn’t there when it landed, nor was she around when a single figure emerged from the craft, scowling darkly as the heat of the desert hit his face. She’d picked up on the gossip as she waited in line for Plutt, hoping she’d get at least four portions for her haul, but in the end settling for two. 

__

She trudged back to her speeder with her portions tucked in her tunic for safekeeping, and pointed it in the direction of her AT-AT. 

__

Her home wasn’t empty when she arrived. 

__

The staff was in her hand before the man could open his mouth, and the end of it was jammed against his chest as soon as Rey was able to gather her wits. 

__

The man’s head dipped down, staring at the blunt end of her staff against his jacket with his lips parted. He slowly rose his head and met his eyes with hers.

__

Golden yellow irises focused on her hazel ones, and his lips tilted up in a lazy smile as the breath caught in her throat. She stared at him, lips parted in shock. 

__

“Hello, little one. Miss me?”

__

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter--the second one is being beta'd as we speak and will be up soon!  
> xoxo


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